How do you plan on planning?

Every school year teachers are faced with the same dilemma... What lesson plan book am I going to use this year? For years I always used the boring plan book that was provided by my school corporation. The only things I can remember about it were it's pale blue cover and enormous size. The last few years I have used the Teacher's Lesson Planner from Erin Condren. I love her lesson planners!

The Teacher's Lesson Planner has everything a teacher needs, and they are so stinkin' cute! The only deterrent for me is the price. The planners range from $55-$75. If I decide to continue with an Erin Condren planner this year, I'm probably going with the geometric circles planner.

There are so many things about this planner that I love! I love the bright colors and dot design on the planner. The cover of the planner also allows you to insert your own cover or photos! The planner has a clear pocket in the front for miscellaneous papers. Another feature is the inspirational quote at the top of each month (I love the quote for July!). It is set up a lot like the Erin Condren planner. Each day of the week is a different color on the the planning pages. I like that the weeks are already labeled for you!

Some other features of the planner are the references pages. It has a page for class birthdays, weekly activity schedule, yearly holidays, and pages for notes.

This lesson planner provides many of the same features as the Teacher's Lesson Plan at a fraction of the price ($19.99). It is a definite contender for the upcoming school year!
I love that the planner has a matching desk calendar that can be purchased separately ($14.99). I hang a monthly calendar in my classroom by the door with upcoming events. The desk calendar has two holes at the top that allows for hanging. I also like that it has plastic corner sleeves to keep each page in place. There is also an inspirational quote at the top of each month!

Another option for planning is online planning from planbook.com. I haven't used planbook.com, but my two teammates used it last year and loved it. It has so many options for planning, and you can re-use lesson plans from one year to the next. There is a yearly subscription fee of $12. This is an appetizing option for planning. The only drawback for me is that I'm old school. There's just something about having the planner in your hands and at your fingertips. I worry that I would feel lost without my planner in my bag at the end of each school day!

I'll let you know as the school year draws closer which planner I decided to use. I would love to hear your thoughts on planning!

1 comment:

Sometimes I get planner envious! In my parish we are required to have certain "things" on our lesson plans ( a lot of extra stuff). If your plan lacks any of these requirements then you are counted off during evaluations in the planning area. There is just not a planner out there that can meet the required expectations because the list is long (crazy right). I just use a premade PDF form that the parish has made and go and type/fill in the areas! There is not anything cute about that (wish there was), but it works! For now I will wish from afar! Thanks for sharing!